GLADYS VERGARA WRITES 30 TO HER BEHIND THE SCENE ROLES, RUNS AS CONGRESSMAN 30 YEARS AFTER ENDING VICE MAYOR TERM

When her dad filed his certificate of candidacy for the city’s congressional seat exactly 30 years ago in 1994, she took the back seat despite being then the vice mayor. When former Philippine Tourism Authority general manager Bernardo Vergara, now 86, won in the 1995 elections and assumed the post two months later, she worked as his chief of staff. For the next 21 years, she was the obedient daughter perfect as the assistant to a public servant who dedicated decades to public service.

Then a retired police general ran for mayor in 2019 and she again played a major role, again behind the curtains.
Despite running as virtually an independent, Benjamin Magalong became the mayor. And he repeated in 2022,
winning by landslide against lawyer Mauricio Domogan, who served as mayor for two three terms and a three-termer
congressman. Again she played a major part. It was her who found ways to counter attacks on the mayor especially during the last two weeks of campaigning. “We have to fight back using the social media,” she then said.

But Gladys Vergara cannot be denied this time, she will run for office even if the Magalong-led coalition opted for another candidate. Vergara filed her CoC last Monday with long-time friend John Glenn Gaerlan, whose three previous quests ended in defeat. If she wins in the May 2025 mid-term elections, it could end 30 years of being cast in the sidelights. She was supposed to run with a long-time ally, who her family helped since he was a young Kabataang Barangay chair. Benjamin Macadangdang, who helped Vergara become the city’s KB chair and a member of the city council nearly 40 years ago, opted to skip running in this election to “be her campaign manager and instead run in the 2028 election as a councilor.”

Her father Bernardo was at the Baguio Convention and Country Club during Monday’s filing, where he said that is
“very proud of her,” the first of his three daughters. Brothers James and Jonathan, who ran twice for councilor but failed, were also there. Jonathan is now a Baguio Water District director. The older Vergara has three sons and three daughters with wife architect Gloria. “She is like a daughter,” said Aurora Bautista, wife of Leonides of the Bautista clan that owns University of Baguio, a staunch Vergara supporter. Zenaida Cating, widow of the late former Lakas party finance officer Moises, and owner of the Solibao-Ganza restaurants vouched for her capabilities also.

Olive Balajadia, wife of former city prosecutor and city councilor Erdolfo, found time to be present at the 3PM filing.
Later at the Swiss Baker which the younger Vergara owns, they were joined by University of the Cordilleras chairman Rey Dean Salvosa, father of lawyer Paolo Raynor Salvosa, who is running as a councilor under the Magalong-led Good Governance Alliance. The younger Salvosa arrived much later with Pamela Angelie Carino, another GGA candidate. Vergara will surely find it as an uphill battle for the city’s lone congressional seat against heavy hitter Soledad Go, wife of incumbent Mark, who filed her CoC last October 4.

Amidst the funfare, Go was joined by long time heavyweight Betty Lourdes Tabanda and City Council returnee Elaine Sembrano, who is seeking a fifth term, when they filed their CoCs. Tabanda is the longest serving elected female public servant since winning in 1992. She won as vice mayor in 2001, lost to former mayor Reinaldo Bautista in 2004, then won as councilor in 2007 and served until 201, and is now seeking her final term next year. In all, Tabanda has 29 years under her belt with the City Council, Incumbent Rep. Go was also there but waited until
October 8 to file his CoC as mayor in what could be an unprecedented occurrence in local politics, a husband-wife
tandem for the highest positions.

Rep. Go was actually awaiting for a possible appointment for national post which did not come until his filing of his candidacy. He said that whether or not it comes, he will still challenge Magalong. Former Rep. Nicaso Aliping, Jr., who defeated the elder Vergara and Go in the 2013 election but run afoul with Tuba residents and a group led by the late bishop Carlito Cenzon for his construction of a mansion atop Mount Santo Tomas. That led to the issuance of a
Temporary Environmental Protection Order by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources that closed
the mountain from traffic since 2015. He was the first to file his candidacy on October 1.

Domogan also filed his candidacy last Tuesday, two days before turning 78, in an attempt to make his return after
two defeats – against Go in 2019 and against Magalong in 2022 – both ending in landslide loses. Domogan’s allies this time are graduating councilor Benny Bomogao for mayor and Vladimir Cayabas, the number 1 and 11 in the last election. They will be joined by former Benguet Electric Cooperative board chairman Esteban Somngi and former
Magalong ally Ted Tan, the city’s self-proclaimed traffic czar. Magalong’s GGA has councilor Isabelo Cosalan, Jr. as
congressman candidate, while vice mayor Faustino Olowan seeks his third and final term “like the mayor.”

Olowan will have councilor Mylen Yaranon, Magalong’s most biggest critic, as opponent under the Go group. Lawyer Francis Camtugan is one of the seven aspirants for the congressional seat. Camtugan is one of the most visible netizen on Facebook and had been behind the casino junket expose where hundreds of locals were embezzled of hundreds of thousands of their hard earned money by a group whose members re now in the lam. Councilors Leandro Yangot, Jr. and Elmer Datuin are running with the Go spouse, while incumbents Fred Bagbagen, Peter Fianza and Jose Molintas are with the GGA.

Former councilor Joel Alangsab will seek another term with the Go wing, while a fourth generation Balajadia who is married to a Kier-Tabora heir, Jacqueline, joins them. Sangguniang Kabataan chair Ryan Mananeng, his predecessor Levy Lloyd Orcales, Lower Quirino barangay Van Dicang, who lost the race for the chairmanship in the Association of Barangay Council in October last year, Galo Weygan’s grandson Yuri and Salvosa are the young turks in the GGA.

Pigeon Lobien/ABN

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